Glenturret 12 2022 - 46%
Laying claim to be Scotland’s oldest working distillery, records suggest there has been a distillery at Glenturret since at least 1763. Today, the distillery still resides in its original location overlooking the river Turret on the edge of town of Crieff.
History has seen changes of name, floods and a long silent period, but the focus has always remained on traditional handcrafted processes and a slow distillation when producing the Glenturret spirit.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given its long history, the distillery has changed hands several times in the past. Since 2019 the distillery has been owned by a joint venture headed by The Lalique Group, opening up the luxury end of the market to an often overlooked brand.
A revamped product range followed in 2020, with new branding including bottles designed with a distinct nod to the new owners. Since that ‘maiden release’ each year has seen new annual releases, the whisky in this review is from the recently launched 2022 range.
Distillery notes
Fewer than sixty carefully selected casks come together to create The Glenturret 12 Years Old - crafted by hand and forming the heart of our range. American oak hogshead casks drive the dessert like sweetness whilst European oak layers the dried fruits and spices leading to a full rich single malt.
Caramelised apples, creamy soft vanilla custard. Fruit pie with a cinnamon glaze topped with a drizzle of caramel. Maturing oak introduces itself much later.
Appearance: Burnished gold, forms a thin line which initially develops into an inverted crown before falling as oily legs.
Nose: Stewed orchard fruit, vanilla pods and creamy caramel sauce.
Palate: Baked Bramley apples sprinkled with sultanas, flaked almonds, caramelised Demerara sugar and cinnamon, smothered in vanilla custard. With a little more time, more dried fruit and orange peel notes appear.
Finish: As the baked apple and sultanas notes gradually fade, cinnamon warmth, brown sugar, cedar wood, a hint of mocha and oak spice come to the fore. Eventually ends with a note similar to undissolved brown sugar granules at the bottom of a milky coffee cup.
Summary: Glenturret 12 is enjoyable although for me a little one dimensional. In common with the Triple Wood expression, this feels like one of those whiskies which is dangerously easy to drink. A long, lingering finish with hints of creamy coffee, sweet brown sugar and cinnamon is the real highlight.
Priced around £65, I’d be more than happy to receive this as a gift but I doubt I would put it on my shopping list as there are other whiskies in the same price bracket which offer just that bit more interest.
If you would like to know more about the whiskies and the Glenturret distillery, follow the link to the company website.
Transparency: this sample pack was received free of charge for independent review. The author has no affiliation with the bottler, all opinions are my own and remain completely impartial.
